Election Commission defends electoral roll revision before Supreme Court

NEW DELHI — The Election Commission has strongly defended its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls before the Supreme Court, seeking the dismissal of petitions challenging the poll revision process and maintaining that all related directives were fully authorized by law.

In a comprehensive 248-page response filed before the apex court, the poll panel stated that orders concerning the Special Intensive Revision—issued on June 24, 2025, October 27, 2025, and May 14, 2026—were approved unanimously by all three members of the Commission. A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is scheduled to hear the petitions on Tuesday.

The legal challenges arose following a September 25 report by The Indian Express, which stated that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections 14 times over a 10-month period regarding decisions linked to the revision exercise. That media report subsequently triggered protests by opposition parties and the Cockroach Janta Party, with demonstrators demanding the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner.

Addressing the controversy in the affidavit, Deputy Election Commissioner Bhanu Prakash Yeturu stated that attempts to cast aspersions against the Election Commission were unfortunate and that the allegations raised in the petitions were misconceived. The poll panel further noted in its filing that, in the eyes of the law, a newspaper report is not treated as evidence of the facts it narrates.

The Commission also firmly rejected contentions that Form 6 had been amended, clarifying that the attached declaration was a separate document issued under the Special Intensive Revision orders. However, the poll panel acknowledged that the manner in which the declaration was displayed on its online platform could be construed as an amendment of Form 6, as it had been merged with the online interface to facilitate one-time passwords and electronic signatures.